Could the real Olaf please stand up?

We all know that Frozen merchandise can be pretty hard to come by right now. The fact that disneystore.com is out means that people will go elsewhere in search of an item, and this “elsewhere” is likely to be sites like eBay. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to know what exactly you’re getting.

In my case, I am considering getting an Olaf plush (we all know who he is- he’s the snowman that Queen Elsa created). Here is a picture of Olaf from the Disney Store (it’s only available from the Spanish store- for 30 euro, about AUD45):

If you search for “Olaf plush” on eBay, there are currently 192 listings. The Olaf that I’m looking for (30cm) currently sells from as low as $9.97 with free postage (from China), $12.99 with free postage (from Hong Kong) to as high as $39.97 plus $8.20 postage from Australia.

What’s suspicious is the dramatic price difference, and the fact that the plushes look different. Yet, all of them have a tag (although they’re different) and has “genuine original Disney Store” on the left foot. Here are some examples:

The carrot nose looks different, the mouth, feet and hands look different. They have to be fake! This is unfortunate, because kids will think that they’re getting the real thing, and they’re not. And it’s questionable as to whether they are of the same quality as the authentic Olaf.

You get what you pay for, and sometimes you don’t even get that on eBay. Beware! If you’re happy to get a knock-off, that’s fine. But if you’re after the genuine item, I think you’re gonna have to wait.